Carrying case



M. L. BUCHANAN 3,128,002

CARRYING CASE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.'

Y /3 MEW/N uc HAN/m April 7, 1964 Filed Feb. l2, 1962 April 7, 1964 M L. BUCHANAN 3,128,002

CARRYING CASE Filed Feb. l2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HrraR/vs v5.

United States Patent O 3,128,002 CARRYING CASE Melvin L. Buchanan, Columbus, lud., assigner to Arvin Industries, Inc., Columbus, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Feb. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 172,701 Claims. (Cl. 22d-4) This invention relates to a carrying case, and has for its object the provision of such a case of attractive appearance which can be manufactured from economical sheetmetal and metal-extrusions, which will prove sturdy and durable in use, which can be easily opened for ready access to the contents held therein, and which can be releasably locked in closed position.

In accordance with the preferred form of the invention, there is provided a pair of opposed upper and lower shells, conveniently hingedly interconnected along one of their sides and provided with cooperative locking means along their opposite sides for releasably locking them in closed position. The upper shell comprises a pair of downwardly extending side walls rigidly connected to a top wall having downwardly projecting front and rear portions terminating coplanar with the lower edges of said end walls and having its lateral edges projecting outwardly beyond said end walls. The bottom shell is formed from a U-shaped wrap forming front and rear walls interconnected by a bottom wall. The ends of the lower shell are formed by a pair of end panels having outwardly projecting flanges abutting the inner faces of the wrap end margins and connected thereto. Said end panels and wrap are further interconnected by a pair of generally rectangular channeled frames rigidly mounted on said end panel flanges and wrap end margins. The end panels and frames project above the wrap whereby with the case in closed position the forward edges of the upper and lower shells will abut and the outwardly projecting lateral edges of the upper shell will be disposed between the opposed lower shell end panels and the frames mounted thereon.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrying case embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the carrying case shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded isometric view of the carrying case shown in FIG. 1.

As illustrated in the drawings, the carrying case comprises an upper shell hingedly connected along one of its sides to a lower shell 12, as by hinges 13. The shells are provided along their opposite side with cooperative locking elements 14 of any desired construction for releasably locking said shells in a case-closed position. Conveniently, the upper shell 10 is also provided with a suitable carrying handle or grip 15 mounted thereon as by a bracket 16 rigidly fastened to the top wall of said shell.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper shell 10 is formed from sheet-metal and comprises a pair of opposed end walls 18, each of which has flanges 19 projecting outwardly from its top and side edges. The top wall 20 of the shell 10 is formed by a piece of sheet-metal having its forward and rear edges bent downwardly as at 21 and 22, respectively, with the lateral edges of said top wall projecting outwardly beyond the end panels 18 and bent back inwardly around the end Wall flanges 19 to thus ."nld Patented Apr. 7, 1964 "ice rigidly interconnect said top and end walls. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the end walls 18 tapers from rear to front, and accordingly, the rear wall portion 22 has a smaller vertical extent than the front wall portion 21.

To enhance the appearance of the upper shell 1li and provide additional rigidity therefor, the lower edges of the front and rear wall portion 21 and 22 are bent inwardly and upwardly upon themselves, as at 23, with the ends of said inwardly bent portions 23 abutting the inner faces of the end walls 18. Similarly, the lower edges of the end walls 1S are bent inwardly and upwardly upon themselves, as at 24, with the ends of said inwardly bent portions 24 abutting the inwardly bent portions 23 of the front and rear wall portions 21 and 22.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lower shell 12 comprises a U-shaped sheet-metal wrap 26 bent to form a pair of opposed front and rear walls 27 and 2S integrally connected to a bottom wall 30. As shown, the wall 27 is higher than the wall 28 in the same proportion as the difference in wall height of the front and rear portions 21 and 22 of the upper shell 1b, so that with the case in closed position the top wall 29 will be in parallelism with the bottom wall Sil. The ends of the lower shell 12 are formed by a pair of opposed generally rectangular end panels 32 set inwardly from the ends of the wrap 26 and provided with outwardly projecting flanges 34 along each of their edges. The end panel flanges 34 along the sides and bottoms of said end panels abut the inner faces of the wrap end margins and are connected thereto by inwardly directed projections 35 formed in the wrap end margins and extending into openings 36 formed in the flanges 34. To further locate the end panels 32 and give added rigidity to the lower shell, the upper longitudinal edges of the front and rear.walls 27 and 28 are bent inwardly and downwardly upon themselves, as at 38, with the opposed ends of said inwardly bent edges abutting the inwardly presented faces of said end panels.

The end panels 32 project above the upper edges of the front and rear walls 27 and 23, and a generally U- shaped brace 40 having a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the wrap 26 and a width corresponding to the width of the end panel flanges 34 is disposed on the top flange and rupper ends of the end flanges on each of the end panels 34, with the ends of said brace abutting Vthe upper edges of the front and rear walls 27 and 28. To mount the braces 40 on the end panels and to further rigidly linterconnect said end panels to the wrap 2-6, there is provided a pair of generally rectangular frames 42 having channeled cross-sections formed by a pair of inwardly projecting legs `44. The legs 44 on each frame extend over the end margins of .the wire wrap 26 at one of 4its ends, the anges 34 on the adjacent end panel and the adjacent brace `lll and are rigidly crimped thereon. Conveniently, the inner faces of the frame legs 44 are serrated, as at 46, to add addi-tional rigidity to the connections between said frames and the wrap, end panels and braces. As will be apparent, the braces 40, by having a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the sheet-metal wrap 26, provide with the panel flanges 34 and wrap end margins a uniform two ply metal thickness around the ends of the lower shell so tha-t the frame legs 44 may be uniformly crimped around the ends of said lower shell.

When the case is in closed position, the upper shell edges 23 will rest on ythe lower shell edges 38 and the lock members 14 may be closed to releasably lock the case in such closed posi-tion. The end panels 32 and frames `42 project above the front and rear walls 27 and 28 a distance suicient that with the case -in closed position the outwardly projecting lateral edges of the .top shell 10 will be -disposed between said end panels to p-rov-ide lateral stability between said upper and lower shells.

l claim:

1. A carry-ing case, comprising (a) an upper and lower `she-ll releasably locked together,

(b) said upper shell having a pair of downwardly extending end walls rigidly connected to a top wall having downwardly projecting front and rear portions terminating coplanar 'with the lower edges of said end walls and having its lateral edges projecting outwardly beyond said end walls,

(c) said bottom shell having a U-shaped wrap form- -ing .front and rear Walls interconnected by a bottom wall,

(d) a pair of end panels having outwardly projecting anges abutting the inner faces of the wrap end margins, and

(e) a pair of generally rectangular channeled frames rigidly mounted on said end panel flanges and wrap end margins,

(f) said end panels and frames projecting above said wrap with the upper faces of said frame projecting above the plane of said upper shell top -wall and said lateral edges of the upper shell being interposed between said end panels when the case is in closed position.

2. A carrying case, comprising (a) an upper and lower shell releasably locked together,

(b) said upper shell having a pair of downwardly extending end walls rigidly connected to a top wall -having downwardly projecting front and rear portions terminating coplanar with the lower edges of said end walls and having its lateral edges projecting outwardly beyond said end walls,

(c) said bottom shell having a U-shaped wrap forming front and rear walls interconnected by a bottom wall,

(d the pontions of the longitudinal edges of said front and rear walls remote from said bottom wall and disposed inwardly from the ends of said wrap being ben-t inwardly upon themselves,

(e) a pair Iof end panels abutting the opposed ends of said inwardly bent front and `rear wall edges and having outwardly projecting flanges abutting the inner faces o-f the wrap end margins, and

(f) a pair of generally rectangular channeled frames rigidly mounted on said end panel flanges and wrap end margins,

(g) said end panels and frames projecting above said Wrap with the upper faces of said frame projecting above the plane of said upper shell Itop `wall and said lateral edges of the upper shell being interposed between said end panels when the case is in closed position.

3. A carrying case, comprising (a) an upper and lower shell releasably locked together,

(b) said upper shell having a pair of downwardly extending end walls rigidly connected to a top wall having downwardly projecting front and rear portions terminating coplanar with the lower edges of said end walls and having its lateral edges projecting outwardly beyond said end walls,

(c) said bottom shell having a U-shaped wrap formd' ing front and rear walls interconnected by a bottom wall, the upper edges of said front and rear walls abutting and supporting the lower edges of said front and rear portions of said upper shell when the case is in closed position,

(d) a pair of generally rectangular end panels projecting above said wrap and having outwardly projecting anges along each of their edges, the flanges along the bottoms and sides of said end panels abutting the inner faces of the wrap end margins,

(e) a pair of generally U-shaped braces abutting the flanges along the tops and upper portions of the sides of said end panels, and

(f) a pair of generally rectangular channeled frames rigidly mounted on said end panel flanges, wrap end margins and braces.

4. A carrying case as set forth in claim 3 with the addition that (a) each of said braces has a thickness equal to the thickness of said wrap, and

(b) the ends of said braces abut the upper edges of said wrap front and rear walls.

5. A carrying case, comprising (a) an upper and lower shell releasably locked together,

(b) said upper shell having a pair of downwardly extending end walls rigidly connected to a top wall having downwardly projecting front and rear portions terminating coplanar with the lower edges of said end walls and having its lateral edges projecting outwardly beyond said end walls,

(c) said bottom shell having a U-shaped wrap forming front and rear walls interconnected by a bottom wall,

(d) the portions of the longitudinal edges of said front and rear walls remote from said bottom wall and disposed inwardly from the ends of said wrap being bent inwardly upon themselves,

(e) a pair of generally rectangular end panels abutting the opposed ends of said inwardly bent front and rear wall edges and projecting above said wrap,

(f) outwardly projecting flanges along each edge of each of said end panels, the flanges along the bottoms and sides of said end panels abutting the inner faces of the wrap end margins,

(g) a plurality of projections on said wrap end margins received in openings formed in said end panel fianges,

(h) a pair of generally U-shaped braces abutting the flanges along the tops and upper portions of the sides of said end panels, and

(i) a pair of generally rectangular channeled frames rigidly mounted on said end panel flanges, Wrap end margins and braces,

(j) the inwardly presented faces of said end panels abutting the outwardly projecting lateral edges of said upper shell when the case is in closed position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 972,797 Avery Oct. 18, 1910 1,938,590 Hoffman Dec. 12, 1933 2,238,830 Smith c Apr. 15, 1941 2,997,198 Hooker Aug. 22, 1961 

1. A CARRYING CASE, COMPRISING (A) AN UPPER AND LOWER SHELL RELEASABLY LOCKED TOGETHER, (B) SAID UPPER SHELL HAVING A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING END WALLS RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO A TOP WALL HAVING DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING FRONT AND REAR PORTIONS TERMINATING COPLANAR WITH THE LOWER EDGES OF SAID END WALLS AND HAVING ITS LATERAL EDGES PROJECTING OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID END WALLS, (C) SAID BOTTOM SHELL HAVING A U-SHAPED WRAP FORMING FRONT AND REAR WALLS INTERCONNECTED BY A BOTTOM WALL, 